A little history in Rampage opener

Goal 27 seconds into game leads to shootout victory.

Published 12:05 am, Sunday, October 9, 2011

If you were late to your seat for the start of the Rampage's 10th season of pro hockey in San Antonio on Saturday night, you missed a slice of club history at the AT&T Center.

It came on their second attack of what became a 3-2 overtime shootout victory over the Chicago Wolves. Rampage center Bracken Kearns, positioned near the blue line, wheeled his stick onto a pass from team captain Nolan Yonkman and ripped a shot over the left shoulder of Eddie Lack, the Wolves' 6-foot-5 goaltender.

Just 27 seconds had elapsed when Kearns lit the lamp, the quickest goal ever in a Rampage season opener, and in front of the largest season-opening crowd in club history, 9,062.

“I don't think I've ever had one quicker,” said Kearns, one of two holdover Rampage players from last season. “‘Yonks' made a great pass and I was able to get a piece of it. A lucky goal.”

The Rampage was fortunate to have 24-year-old goaltender Brian Foster at the ready when starter Manny Legace, a 38-year-old veteran of 11 NHL seasons, was forced to leave the game. Legace tweaked an old injury when Chicago's Mike Duco crashed into him in the net just past the midpoint of the first period.

Legace toughed it out through the rest of the first, yielding one late goal, but could not come out for the second period. Foster gave up one second-period goal to Chicago's Darren Archibald, but that was all.

Late in the second, Rampage rookie Jonathen Hazen tied the score at 2-2, the first goal of his pro career. When the score was still knotted at 2-2 after a five-minute overtime, Foster was perfect in the shootout, stopping four straight Chicago shooters.

“You just take it shot by shot and try not to think about the next shot,” Foster said of his flawless work in the shootout. “(His Rampage teammates) made it easier on me, made two in a row. That helped a lot, put less pressure on me.”

Citing past performance, Rampage coach Chuck Weber said leading off the shootout with A.J. Jenks was a “no-brainer.” Jenks made him look plenty brainy by beating Lack. Hazen followed with a nifty deke to his backhand to beat Lack again.

Foster's work at the other end was all the Rampage needed.

“I felt really good out there,” Foster said. “The defense played well in front of me and helped me see everything and I knew we had the back door covered. I could just concentrate on the shot.”